madsad

Hi,We have a 12yr old son with ADHD, Does anyone else have kids with the same/similar conditions,Does anyone know how Dimia view this condition?
Our son was diagnosed with this when he was 3yrs,been on medication since he was 4yrs.
He is not too bad,his main problem is lack of concentration,easilly distracted etc..Has done very well at school barn the odd hiccup.
We have our meds next week.
Andrews specialist says he will probably need specialist guidance when we get to Oz.
Would love to get some feedback from anybody going through the visa process or already been through it in a similar situation.
Thanx,Donna.

Manc

My 14 year old has it.
We've done Rittalin and Concerta with him. rittalin just made him a zombie, and was more concerning than the ADHD.
Concerta was as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I recently read this book
"Therapy for ADHD children and their effec...............QUICK LETS GO RIDE OUR BIKES!"



seriously though, I dunno how DIMIA views it, but it appears that every other kid here in the USA gets diagnosed with it..........
makes me wonder if Glaxo are in the pockets of the school system here.

MarkMyWords

Hevs and Hup have a son with dyspraxia and mild ADD. They will no doubt respond themselves but meanwhile you can read this fairly recent (rather long) thread on the subject which discusses their situation and in which others have mentioned similar problems.

As manc1976 says, Ritalin is to be avoided!

Additional edit: for anyone coming to this thread now, I've had several strips torn off me for making the above overly unequivocal statement about Ritalin. Please ignore that statement and please don't add to my pile of guilt about it. Thanks.

MSB

Our son has dyspraxia, add and mild autism and weve just been granted our visa.

He was on medication and had intensive physio until he left school last year and went to college. He is now at art college and in an environment that he can get up and wander round, go for a drink etc when ever he wants and is loving it. Hes also at the age where he recognises how he needs to treat his problems and the limitations they place on him.

We got a letter of the specialist saying what treatment he had had to date and the expectations for the future. We sent this off with his extensive doctors notes and this was sufficient for dimia to grant us our visas.

I can send you more detailed info if you want to pm me. Good luck.

Laura

madsad

Hi, Believe it or not,Andrew has been on ritalin since he was 4yrs & we have found it a great help & can certainly notice the difference if he forgets to take a dose!
He started off with 10mg,now he is on 30mg daily.Never had any probs with the drug,eats like a horse!,bp fine& now the teenage years are creeping up on him he finally needs sleep!! & find this greatly takes the edge off his problems,helps us cope a little bit better with him anyway!
As Andrew has had it so young it a part of life for us,& its certainly doesnt make it easier to cope with day to day,he has good days & bad days,(i should of said good minutes & bad minutes!!)
We have looked into Concerta,which is supposed to be an easier alternative to the ritalin so the specialist says,we are just not ready to upset things & be back to square one.
I will go& read that thread,
Thanx,
Donna.

Andrea_amp_Rich

Hi Donna,

I wouldnt worry to much. My daughter who is now 11 had a really bad case of ADHD and she was diagnosed from the age of 3. She was prescribed Ritalin and then Dexamphetamine (excuse the spelling).

Luckly she was discharged over 1 year ago as she is now in remission and off treatment. We were told that if she had still been on medication etc all we would need was a specialist letter from her doctor explaining everything . When we had our medicals about 4 weeks ago she was not on medication but did have another complaint but the doctor who took us for our medicals told us not to worry as the problems were not serious enough to be refused a visa. She lives a normal life and attends a main stream school.

Dont worry and the best of luck to you all.

Andrea

walla

Hi

Hope this helps: It's about definitions

In my work we do not "class" children with ADHD/ ADD as having a disability but as having a condition.

There would have been an issue with DIMIA if the condition was a disability if you see what I mean.

Because ADHD/ADD is controlled in some circustances by medication I don't think it would be problem.

Anyway 9 times out of 10 the doctor doing the meds won't have a clue about the condition, believe me they won't.

As far as education is concerned check out the schools on the web where you are hoping to settle, they nearly all have individual sites, the schools have been very helpful with us. Ask them what provision they have for Special Education Needs.

Walla

debsy

My seven year old also has dyspraxia. I do not give her medication though. She does take eye q though and I an wondering if I will be able to get it in Australia. She is very bright but she cannot sit still in the classroom. We were not aware of this when we went for the meds though.

Good luck.

madsad

Thanx Walla,
We are going to Brissie,Kallanguer area, So i will check out what Secondary Schools they have & hopefully get some background.
Luckily enough he hasnt needed any help in school as yet,(all through his schooling we,ve had to point out he has a problem) i think he stores it all up for when he comes home!
What you,ve said makes a lot of sense & helpfull.
Thanx again,
Donna.

madsad

Hi Debsy, I dont think you should have any problem getting eye q in Oz, or something very similar.You will definately get it online if all else fails?
Donna.

debsy

Thanks Donna.

walla

Hi Donna

Good luck for Brissie

And oh yes, angels at school, devils at home, could give you a million stories!!

Have you heard of Contact a Family? Check them on the web. They are a National Organisation in the UK but have worldwide contacts and I'm sure they will have some in Oz. Let me know what region you live in in the UK and I will pass you on the name of your regional contact by PM. They are fantastic, they can find out loads of info for you to save you the trouble.

Walla

teach

Hiya madsad,

Try fishing around on here

http://www.education.qld.gov.au

They have a section on policies and have a policy on children with ADHD. If schools don't find it an issue, then neither should DIMIA.
Good luck
Sarah

MrsDagboy

Mark, unless you know what you are talking about perhaps you shouldnt make sweeping generalizations like that?

MarkMyWords

I was merely re-iterating a point that came across quite strongly both in the hevs/hup thread and in stuff that I have read about elsewhere. I do have some first-hand exposure to Asperger's and I have read up about the subject so although I may not be a suffering parent I'm not exactly ignorant either.